Cabinda Province

Portuguese explorers, missionaries, and traders arrived at the mouth of the Congo River in the mid-15th century, making contact with the Manikongo, the powerful King of the Bakongo tribe. The Manikongo controlled much of the region through affiliation with smaller kingdoms, such as the Kingdoms of Ngoyo, Loango, and Kakongo in present-day Cabinda.

Over the years, the Portuguese, Dutch, and English established trading posts, logging camps, and small palm oil processing factories in Cabinda. Trade continued and the European presence grew, resulting in conflicts between the rival colonial powers.

1913 map of Bas-Congo and Cabinda

Portugal first claimed sovereignty over Cabinda in the February 1885 Treaty of Simulambuco, which gave Cabinda the status of a protectorate of the Portuguese Crown under the request of "the princes and governors of Cabinda". This is often the basis upon which the legal and historical arguments in defense of the self-determination of modern-day Cabinda are constructed. Article 1, for example, states, "the princes and chiefs and their successors declare, voluntarily, their recognition of Portuguese sovereignty, placing under the protectorate of this nation all the territories by them governed" [sic]. Article 2, which is often used in separatist arguments, goes even further: "Portugal is obliged to maintain the integrity of the territories placed under its protection". The Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (FLEC-R) argues that the above-mentioned treaty was signed between the emissaries of the Portuguese Crown and the princes and notables of Cabinda, then called Portuguese Congo, giving rise to not one, but three protectorates: Cacongo, Loango, and Ngoio.

Through the Treaty of Simulambuco in 1885 between the kings of Portugal and the princes of Cabinda, a Portuguese protectorate was decreed, reserving rights to the local princes and independent of Angola. Cabinda once had the Congo River as the only natural boundary with Angola, but in 1885, the Berlin Conference extended the territory of the Congo Free State along the Congo River to the river's mouth at the sea.

By the mid-1920s, the borders of Angola had been finally established in negotiations with the neighboring colonial powers. From then on, Cabinda was treated as part of this colony.

The Portuguese constitution of 1933 distinguished between the colony of Angola and the protectorate of Cabinda, but in 1956, the administration of Cabinda was transferred to the governor-general of Angola. The legal distinction of Cabinda's status from that of Angola was also expressed in the Portuguese constitution of 1971.[9] Yet, when Angola was declared an "overseas province" (Província Ultramarina) within the empire of Portugal in 1951, Cabinda was treated as an ordinary district of Angola. In 1972, the name of Angola was changed to "State of Angola".

Under Portuguese rule, Cabinda was an important agricultural and forestry center, and in 1967, it discovered huge offshore oil fields. Oil, timber, and cocoa had been its main exports until then. The town of Cabinda, the capital of the territory, was a Portuguese administrative and services center with a port and airfield. The beaches of Cabinda were popular with Portuguese Angolans.

A 1974 military coup in Lisbon abolished the authoritarian regime established by António de Oliveira Salazar that had prevailed in Portugal for decades. The new government decided immediately to grant all Portuguese colonies the independence for which nationalist guerilla movements had been striving. In Angola, the decolonization process took the form of a violent conflict between the different guerilla movements and their allies. In 1975 the Treaty of Alvor between Portugal and National Liberation Front of Angola (FNLA), People's Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA) and National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) reconfirmed Cabinda's status as part of Angola. The treaty was rejected by the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda and other local political organizations which advocated of separate independence. Since then, Cabinda has been, on the one hand, a normal Angolan province, but on the other hand, there has been persistent political protest against this status; the "Kabinda Free State" says the exclave was a Portuguese protectorate until Angola invaded in 1974.[10] They also say they control 85% of Kabinda territory and invite proposals for joint ventures.[10] A number of guerrilla actions have also occurred in Cabinda.[11]

The arguments for self-determination are based on Cabindans' cultural and ethnic background. Prior to the Treaty of Simulambuco, three kingdoms existed in what is now referred to as Cabinda: Cacongo, Ngoyo, and Loango. The Cabindans belong to the Bakongo ethnic group whose language is Kikongo. The Bakongo also comprise the majority of the population in Uíge and Zaire provinces of Angola. However, despite this shared ancestry, the Cabindans developed a very different culture and distinct variants of the Kikongo language.

Ethno-cultural uniqueness as a basis for self-determination has been vehemently opposed in Angola, by both the government and by prominent intellectuals and civil society personalities. The MPLA's Secretary-General, for example, has characterized the argument as "not enough to grant it independence, because all the provinces in the country have specific cultures".

In the early 1960s, several movements advocating a separate status for Cabinda came into being. The Movement for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda (MLEC) was formed in 1960 under the leadership of Luis Ranque Franque. Resulting from the merger of various émigré associations in Brazzaville, the MLEC rapidly became the most prominent of the separatist movements. A further group was the Alliama (Alliance of the Mayombe), representing the Mayombe, a small minority of the population. In an important development, these movements united in August 1963 to form a united front. They called themselves the FLEC, and the leadership role was taken by the MLEC’s Ranque Franque.

In marked contrast with the FNLA, the FLEC’s efforts to mobilize international support for its government in exile met with little success. In fact, the majority of Organization of African Unity (OAU) members, concerned that this could encourage separatism elsewhere on the continent, committed to the sanctity of state borders and firmly rejected recognition of the FLEC’s government in exile.

In January 1975, Angola’s MPLA, FNLA and UNITA liberation movements signed the Alvor Agreement with Portugal, to establish the modalities of the transition to independence. FLEC was not invited.

On 1 August 1975, at an OAU summit in Kampala which was discussing Angola in the midst of its turbulent decolonization process, Ranque Franque proclaimed the independence of the "Republic of Cabinda", . Zairian President Mobutu Sese Seko called for a referendum on the future of the Cabinda.

FLEC formed a provisional government, led by Henriques Tiago. Luiz Branque Franque was elected president. Following the declaration of Angolan independence in November 1975, Cabinda was invaded by forces of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA), with the support of Cuban troops. The MPLA overthrew the provisional FLEC government and incorporated Cabinda into Angola.

For much of the 1970s and 1980s, FLEC operated a low intensity guerrilla war, attacking Angolan government troops and economic targets, or creating havoc by kidnapping foreign employees working in the province’s oil and construction businesses.

The National Union for the Liberation of Cabinda (Portuguese: União Nacional de Libertação de Cabinda; UNLC), a militant separatist group, emerged in the 1990s under the leadership of Lumingu Luis Gimby.[14]

In April 1997, Cabinda joined the Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization,[15] a democratic and international organization whose members are indigenous peoples, occupied nations, minorities and independent states or territories. In 2010, Cabinda became a charter member of the Organization of Emerging African States (OEAS).

An ad-hoc United Nations commission for human rights in Cabinda reported in 2003 that many atrocities had been perpetrated by the MPLA. In 2004, according to Peter Takirambudde, executive director of the Human Rights Watch mission for Africa, the Angolan army continued to commit crimes against civilians in Cabinda.

Although the Angolan government says FLEC is no longer operative, this is disputed by the Republic of Cabinda and its Premier, Joel Batila.

Earlier increases in the price of oil have made Cabinda's untapped onshore oil reserves a valuable commodity.

In July 2006, after ceasefire negotiations in the Republic of Congo, António Bento Bembe - as a president of Cabindan Forum for Dialogue and Peace, and vice-president and executive secretary of FLEC - announced that the Cabindan separatist forces were ready to declare a ceasefire. Bembe is the leader of the "Cabindan Forum for Dialogue", an organization which represents most Cabindan groups. The peace was recognized by the United States, France, Portugal, Russia, Gabon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Japan, South Korea, the European Union and the African Union.

"We're going to sign a cease-fire with the Angolans who in return have accepted the principle of granting special status to Cabinda", he announced, implying that while his group is resigned to be a part of Angola, they have gotten a promise of some form of autonomy.[16]

From Paris, FLEC-FAC contended Bembe has no authority or mandate to negotiate with the Angolans, and that the only acceptable solution is total independence.[17]

On 8 January 2010, the bus carrying the Togo national football team traveling through Cabinda en route to the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations tournament was attacked by gunmen, even though it had an escort of Angolan forces. The ensuing gunfight resulted in the deaths of the assistant coach, team spokesman and bus driver, and caused injuries to several others as well.

An offshoot of the FLEC claimed responsibility. Rodrigues Mingas, secretary general of the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda-Military Position (Flec-PM), said his fighters had meant to attack security guards as the convoy passed through Cabinda. "This attack was not aimed at the Togolese players but at the Angolan forces at the head of the convoy", Mingas told France 24 television. "So it was pure chance that the gunfire hit the players. We don't have anything to do with the Togolese and we present our condolences to the African families and the Togo government. We are fighting for the total liberation of Cabinda."[18]